Superheater support



Sept.- 24, 1935." w R, D 2,015,328

SUPERI-IEATER SUPPORT Filed May 6, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VE TOR.

' M414; ATTORNEYS.

Sept. 24, 1935. w. R. WOOD SUPERHEATEB SUPPORT Filed May 6, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. m M

{*Mw ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 24, 1935 s'ra SUPER/HEATER SUIPORT Delaware Application May 6, 1931, Serial No. 535,362

9 Claims.

This invention relates to the supporting of a superheater and it has for its primary object the provision of a simple and effective means Whereby the superheater may be supported.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to use a portion of the elements of the superheater as a means of support.

I accomplish the foregoing by means of an arrangement the preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

Wherein Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive are fragmentary sectional views through portions of boilers illustrating more or less diagrammatically the superheater and various forms of the improved supporting means therefor.

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary views drawn on an enlarged scale illustrating certain details of the support; and

Figs. '7 and 3 are detail views of modifications.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the reference character A indicates the upper portion of a high pressure single drum boiler of the type shown, for example, in my copending application Serial No.

440,883 filed April 2, 1930, issued August 1, 1933, as Patent No. 1,920,776. In this type of boiler the combustion space of the boiler is defined by the boiler itself, the latter essentially constitut ing tubes arranged in the form of a six-sided box,

with the tubes largely subject to radiant heat. The fuel is admitted in the lower portion of the combustion chamber defined by the tubes and the gaseous products of combustion leave the combustion space proper in the spaces between tubes 1 at the top of the combustion chamber. Above these tubes there is a space 13 in which the superheater C is located so as to be subject to the gaseous products of combustion leaving the combustion space between the tubes 1. The

tubes 5 are suitably baiiied, but as this forms no part of the present invention, the bafliing is not illustrated.

The superheater may be of any preferred construction, but as shown in the drawings it consists of the usual hairpin elements 8, one end of which is connected into the header 9 and the other into a header to. It will be understood that there are a plurality of these hairpin elements transversely of the heater, a few of the elements being shown in Figs. 5 and 6. At suitable points transversely of the group of elements certain of the elements are bent so as to provide portions 80!. which extend transversely of the elements in a vertical direction. These portions to of the elements are utilized as ameans for supporting the remaining elements.

Any suitable means may be provided for utilizing these portions 8a as a support. Thus, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, the portions 8a may 5 be provided on opposite sides With sets of ears or lugs ll having a seat 12 adapted to receive the hairpin elements. In this arrangement every alternate one of the hairpin elements is bent to provide the supporting portions 800. In the 10 arrangement of Fig. 6 each hairpin element has supporting portions 8a formed therein so that the lugs I! need be provided only on one side of the portions to.

In either construction expansion and contrac- 15 tion can readily take place so that there is no binding either upon the hairpin elements themselves, or upon the transversely extending portions 8a thereof. Nevertheless all of the elements are supported. The superheater as a whole 20 is hung from the super-structure I2 by means of depending rods I3 engaging horizontal portions i l of the elements connecting with the portions 8a.

The arrangement of Fig. 2 is in all essentials 25 the same as Fig. 1, With the exception that the headers 9 and l l! are now located above the superheater and are suitably supported by any preferred means (not shown). The portions 8a, in this case, connect with these headers so that such 30 portions constitute not only the support for the elements of the superheater, but the support for the entire superheater, thus dispensing with the members E3 of Fig. 1;

In Fig. 3, I have illustrated the application of 35 my invention to an inter-deck horizontal tube boiler, such, for example, as a cross drum boiler. The superheater is of the interlaced pipe coil type and the portions to of one coil, serve to support both coils. In this arrangement the inlet headers 40 E5 of the superheater are supported by suitable means (not shown) and constitute a support for the superheater. The outlet header 16 or the boiler setting or wall, or the tubes connecting boiler headers, may constitute the other support, 45 or, if desired, a supporting means such as shown in Fig. 1, for example, may be employed.

- On reference to Fig. 4, it will be seen that I have angularly disposed the portions 8a. so as to give a self-supporting truss construction which is best 5 suited where hangers are to be dispensed with and the superheater is to be supported, as, for example, at the points 16 and 11.

Due to the high degree of superheat now required, expensive special heat resisting metal sup 5 ports are ordinarily used, particularly for the lowermost elements. These costly supports are avoided by my invention. Where supporting hangers are employed in my invention, they are located out of the zone of highly destructive temperatures and can be of inexpensive metal. If desired the lower ends of the bent portions of the elements may be bent in so as to be shielded by other portions of the elements, as shown in Fig. 7, or the portions 8 may be welded as in Fig. 8.

It is to be preferred to offset the transverse portions with relation to each other so as to provide freer passage for the gases.

The invention is applicable to superheaters in other forms of boilers than those shown.

It is preferable to have the transverse members of each adjoining element offset with relation to each other so as not to interfere or block the free passage of the gases.

The truss structure such as shown for example in Figure 4 may serve as a support or stiffener when applied to an inner tube superheater associated with a V-type Sterling boiler.

I claim:-

1. A superheater having substantially horizontally disposed multi-tubular elements having portions arranged in vertically superimposed relationship, portions of the elements being extended transversely to and disposed between said multitubular elements and serving as a supporting means, and clips or lugs fastened to said transverse portions and projecting below substantially horizontal tubular elements to provide support therefor with freedom for movement to compensate for expansion and contraction.

2. A superheater including a generally rectangular bank of tubes, the major portion of which extend generally horizontally in parallel, superimposed and side-by-side relationship, the superheater further including some tube elements connected into the circulation of the tubes first mentioned and extended upwardly and downwardly between rows of said first mentioned tubes in a generally zigzag manner, the zigzag tubes being connected with the tubes first mentioned, whereby to provide a unitary, truss-like superheater structure.

3. In a furnace installation, the combination of a superstructure and a superheater including a generally rectangular bank of tubes, the major portion of which extend generally horizontally in parallel, superimposed and side-by-side relationship, the superheater further including some tube elements connected into the circulation of the tubes first mentioned and extended upwardly and downwardly between rows of said first mentioned tubes in a generally zigzag manner, the zigzag tubes being connected with the tubes first mentioned, whereby to provide a unitary, trusslike superheater structure, together with means cooperating with said zigzag tubes and with said superstructure to support the superheater in the furnace as a unit.

4. A unitary tubular superheater element including a tube bent upon itself a plurality of times to provide a plurality of tube sections extending substantially parallel to each other and all lying in the same general plane, the end portions or sections of said tube further being bent to extend in a plane spaced from but parallel to the plane first mentioned in a direction generally transverse the sections first mentioned adjacent thereto, and means cooperating with the sections first mentioned and said transverse sections to provide for support of the former from the latter.

5. A generally rectangular superheater including a plurality of horizontally extended and vertically superimposed tube elements, the tube elements further being arranged in groups each of which includes a plurality of tubes lying in the same generally vertical plane, with the planes of the several groups being substantially parallel to each other, additional tube elements extended upwardly and downwardly a plurality of times in planes between the planes of adjacent groups, said additional tube elements being connected into the circulation of the elements first mentioned, and vertically spaced horizontally projecting, shelf or bracket means carried by said additional tube elements and positioned thereon to project below the tube elements first mentioned to provide support therefor, and. means for supporting the superheater as a unit including support members engaging said additional tube elements.

6. A unitary tubular superheater element in cluding a tube bent upon itself a plurality of times to provide a plurality of tube sections extending substantially parallel to each other and all lying in the same general vertical plane, one end portion or section of said tube further being bent to extend in a plane spaced from but parallel to the plane first mentioned, the extension of said end section being across or transverse said parallel sections at a point intermediate the ends thereof, and means cooperating with the sections first mentioned and said transverse section to provide for support of the former from the latter.

7. A superheater including a multiplicity of tubular superheater elements divided into groups with the elements of the several groups lying in spaced but parallel and side by side vertical planes, the elements in adjacent groups being extended across or transversely of each other a plurality of times intermediate the ends thereof in lattice-work fashion, and the elements of a pair of adjacent groups being connected with each other at crossing points thereof for purposes of unitary support of the elements in said pair of groups, there being a plurality of such unitarily supported pairs of groups incorporated in the superheater whereby to provide for separate removal and replacement of the pairs and there being elements in one of said pairs which extend in generally parallel relationship to elements of another pair.

8. The combination with a boiler having two vertically spaced groups of substantially horizontal generating tubes of a superheater having elements in the space between said groups, a pair of horizontally spaced headers to which said elements are connected, supporting members each having one end fastened to one of said headers and the other end fastened to the other of said headers, and means for transferring. the weight of said elements largely to said members.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 and in which one of the headers lies outside the space between the generating groups.

WILFRED R. WOOD. 

